§ § § -- June 9, 1985

Teppo considered Roarke's question for a few moments. "I think I do." He looked up. "Meeting him at all was a stroke of luck. His name is Launo Haavisto, and he's been seeing a cousin of mine. She brought him over for dinner, and as luck would have it, Lempo was in control when they got there. When I became aware again, I found myself tied to a tree in our backyard, and my entire family, as well as my cousin and Haavisto, were out there watching. That's when he started asking questions and finally decided I was possessed by Lempo. How he knew is a complete mystery to me, though. I admit I don't know very much about Lempo, but then again, it's not easy to find much information about him to begin with."

Roarke nodded, processing the information for just a moment. "I believe the next step is to contact your cousin and have Mr. Haavisto at least speak with us over the telephone, if not come to Fantasy Island in person. We'll use the phone in my office, but first we should finish this excellent meal." He winked conspiratorially at Leslie. "We wouldn't want to raise Mariki's ire."

"Absolutely not," Leslie agreed with a shudder, and Teppo laughed, catching her attention. "Hey, I'm not exaggerating. Mariki is the best cook I've ever known, but she has a formidable temper, and she really gets her hackles up if we don't eat."

"Then I suggest we do some justice to this meal, just as Mr. Roarke said," Teppo agreed, still grinning, and dug in. Conversation was sporadic while they ate; all three were thinking of the upcoming phone call and hoping for some answers.

They were nearly finished when a harried-looking fellow with two preteen girls in tow strode across the porch, a desperate look on his flushed features. "Mr. Roarke, I—" He stopped short when he realized they were still eating. "Sorry for interrupting your meal…"

Roarke put down his utensils and made quick use of a napkin. "That's quite all right, Mr. Decker. Is there a problem?"

"Well, Ashley and Callie here have been chomping at the bit to get their fantasy granted, but so far, nothing. And they're starting to get a little restless, if you know what I mean."

One of the girls spoke up indignantly. "Mr. Roarke, you already gave my dad his fantasy, and now it's Callie's and my turn."

"Yeah," the other girl put in her two cents. "When do we get to see a unicorn?"

"Do you even have any on this island anyway?" Ashley concluded scornfully.

Roarke glanced back and forth between the girls, to the man who had accompanied them, and finally to Teppo and Leslie. "The phone call may have to wait for a short time," he said apologetically. "I'll return as soon as I can." He then got up and ushered the trio back along the porch, saying as he did, "Girls, surely you remember what I told you about unicorns and how they are extremely shy…" His voice trailed off, and Teppo turned to Leslie in disbelief.

"He can't be serious. Unicorns? Those two girls actually expect to see such a thing?"

Leslie shrugged. "Unicorns are picky about who they show themselves to. If I were a unicorn, I certainly wouldn't be eager to meet those two little whiners." Then she caught Teppo's expression and tipped her head to one side, regarding him with a gently rebuking smile. "Hey, don't be so quick to dismiss the idea. After all, you're having problems with a god that's considered to be just as mythical as any unicorn."

Teppo quirked one side of his mouth, looking sheepish. "Point taken." She grinned, and he gave her a suspicious look. "Have you seen these alleged unicorns?"

"Once," said Leslie. "Mr. Roarke and Tattoo took me to see them on my sixteenth birthday. It was quite a treat." She slanted a mischievous smile his way. "If you're a good boy, maybe I'll let you see one."

"The highlight of my weekend," he drawled, and she broke into laughter. Clearly pleased with himself for evoking this response in her, he turned her head to face him and kissed her.

Roarke topped the steps and was halfway across the porch when he saw them; his dark eyes grew wide with surprise. Here was a new twist in the tale, to be sure. He waited quietly for a moment, looking aside; but when he glanced back a full minute later and they were still engrossed, he smiled wryly and decided it was time to step in. Clearing his throat loudly, he continued his approach to the table and saw the two break apart hastily.

"So will those girls see their unicorns?" Teppo inquired, recovering first. Leslie, who had immediately turned fiery red, grabbed her fork and started clearing the remaining food on her plate with some gusto, refusing to look up.

"I daresay they may," Roarke said dismissively. "Have you finished eating yet?"

Teppo watched Leslie with amusement and said, "I don't think so, Mr. Roarke. But at this rate we'll be only another minute or so." He grinned and popped a grape into his mouth. Leslie looked up from her plate just long enough to cast Teppo one extremely dirty look, and Teppo nearly choked on the grape from his laughter. Roarke chuckled softly and arose before Leslie could turn her ire on him.

"You two can meet me in the office when you've finished," he said, and with that he left them alone. Leslie swallowed, dropped her fork on her plate with a clatter and stood up fast enough to create a breeze. Teppo got up behind her, but by the time he had extricated himself from his chair, she was almost halfway to the door. He had to run to catch up.

"Leslie, wait," he called, pounding across the porch and managing to grab her arm. "Are you angry with me? I didn't mean to upset you."

She sighed and hung her head. "It's just that…well, Mr. Roarke saw us, after all, and I just…" She looked up plaintively. "Well, I'm getting a little nervous about the way I'm starting to feel about you."

Teppo tipped her head up, planted one soft kiss on her lips, and smiled at her. "Believe me, you have company. I'm a little overwhelmed myself. But I have to tell you, it's the best I've felt since Lempo started invading my brain. So I hope you won't withdraw from me simply because your father caught us kissing. I didn't hear any objections on his part." She started to roll her eyes and he kissed her again, then slipped an arm around her waist. "Come on, let's go see about that phone call."

In the office, Roarke had already seated himself behind his desk, and smiled when Teppo and Leslie came in. "Good," he said. "Teppo, why don't you make the call."

In about five minutes Teppo was on the line with his cousin in Finland, speaking rapidly in his native tongue. Roarke watched his daughter with new interest; Leslie was gazing at Teppo, head tilted slightly to the side as if she were trying to understand Teppo's speech. He was a little surprised at himself that he hadn't noticed the apparent attraction between Teppo and Leslie until just now. Never before had she shown this much interest in a boy, and he was worried about what would happen to her once Teppo and his family returned home to Finland.

Suddenly Teppo turned to him, interrupting his musings, and asked, "May I have a pen and some paper, Mr. Roarke?" Roarke provided him with these items, and he smiled his thanks and switched back to Finnish, scribbling down a series of numbers while his cousin dictated them to him. "Kiitos, Tarja," he concluded, hanging up. "She gave me this phone number where I can reach Launo Haavisto. But Finland's eleven hours ahead of this time zone, so it'll probably be much too late at night to make the call."

Roarke did some swift calculations and nodded in realization; it would be around midnight in Finland now. "Unfortunately, yes," he said. "For the moment, we seem to have reached an impasse in our progress; and since that is the case, we may as well make a trip to the hospital and see if your parents' conditions have changed."

Their visit to the hospital produced no news, and after that the sunny tropical afternoon seemed ominous somehow. Leslie kept checking the sky as if she expected it to fill with storm clouds any moment, and Teppo paced the floor until Roarke invented an errand for his daughter and suggested she take Teppo with her. He was as relieved to see them go as they were to do it.

Dealing with his other guests necessitated that Roarke put the problem of Lempo to the back of his mind, and he found it a bit refreshing to think about other things. He had never had such a difficult fantasy before and was a little frustrated at its murky obscurity. There were so many questions that had no answers, and he was mentally weary of the knotty mystery. By the time the afternoon had begun to wane towards evening, he had seen to the complaints and inquiries of nearly two dozen guests and actually caught up on his paperwork for the first time in months. He was about ready to turn his mind back to the Komainens and their dilemma when the telephone rang. "Yes?"

What he heard made him frown in disbelief for a moment, then close his eyes and nod. "I am deeply sorry. No, I'll tell him myself. Thank you." He was just hanging up when Teppo and Leslie entered the house, both looking only slightly more relaxed than when they had left. Roarke stood up and watched them come in, his features solemn.

Leslie noticed first. "What's wrong, Mr. Roarke?"

Roarke cleared his throat and came around the desk. "I just received a telephone call," he said and focused on Teppo. "It was the hospital. Teppo, your father…passed away about ten minutes ago."